Landscapes of Zimbabwe

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   hey there hi there ho there dear dyxumers! 

I'd like to share with you the beauty of Zimbabwe, by means of a selection of photographs i took when i returned to my home country this july. I outdid myself this year- making a whopping four thousand pictures. Maybe it was because of my new nex-7 camera, which certainly enhanced my appetite for taking pictures, but in any case zimbabwe still is an exceptionally beautiful and friendly place to visit, just like 10 years ago when i left the country. 

For me, processing the pictures is part of the fun because i get to relive the holiday a bit. Still, I try not to alter colours or composition, limiting myself to change contrast, white balance and maybe once or twice use split toning.

We traveled through Zimbabwe in a rented Toyota land cruiser, a car which i cannot praise enough. We mostly visited national parks, and slept mostly in the rooftop tents and occasionally in lodges. We avoided commercial parks/reserves and the likes- they remind me too much of zoos.

I took all these pictures with either my sony a200 with a minolta 100-300APO or my new nex 7 with kitlens or various md rokkor lenses attached (50/1.4, 35-105/3.5-4.5, 28/2.8)

This first selection illustrates some of the landscapes one could encounter in Zimbabwe.

1. sunset view of the runde river surrounded by the arid savannah woodlands of gonarezhou. our camping place was somewhere along this hippo filled river.

a200 100mm f8 1/500s

2. the Chilojo Cliffs of Gonarezhou. impressive and humbling.

nex 7, kitlens, panorama

3. a small herd of very sociable elephant gather under the chilojo cliffs. extremely fascinating to watch, even at a distance of +/- 150 metres.

nex 7, md rokkor 35-135 135mm, f6ish, iso400

4. zebra on the dried up riverbed of lake mutirikwi. irrigation needs downstream and dry rainy seasons have ensured that the waterlevel of the lake has been some 20-30 metres below normal for several years now.

a200 100-300APO f7.1, 140mm, iso 100

5. an average skyscape on a moonless night in zimbabwe. despite of the dusty atmosphere because of the dry season, the stars and the milkyway are extremely humbling. the nex 7 exceeded all my expectations with regards to astrophotography. the peaking and mf assist is a godsend and so is the articulated screen when the camera is pointed directly upwards. and the performance at 3200 iso is pretty amazing.

nex,7 md rokkor 50/1.4 f2, 8.0s, iso 3200

6. nyanga highlands, the coldest parts of zimbabwe. they have a certain quality that reminds me of scotland.

nex 7 kitlens 20mm f9, panorama.

7. a freezing, early morning at our lodge in nyanga- impressive fog tendrils reach up out of the lake into the surrounding trees as the morning sun warms up the lake.

nex 7, md rokkor 35-135 100mm, f5.6, iso 100

8. the  northern entrance to Hwange National park. Less than 5km away from this extremely beautiful park, coal mines destroy the earth.

9. View from Sinamatella camp in Hwange national park. This is a camp on the top of a large hill in the middle of hwange national park, which includes several lodges, a ZimParks headquarters, a football field, camping spots and extremely satisfying vistas. When we arrived, we watched herds of elephant navigating their way around each other from our camping spot, competing for drinking spots in the almost dried out Lukosi river until night fell and the sounds of lions surrounding us scared us into our tents.

nex 7, md rokkor 28/2.8 f7.1, iso 100 1/640s

10. A herd of elephant walking along the Lukosi river. The hours i spent gazing at this landscape were mesmerizing- ill never forget it. I challenge you to spot the smallest elephant in this picture!

a200, 100-300APO @300mm f8, 1/640s, iso 200

11. Water pumps- one windmill and one diesel pump. Sustainable and unsustainable energy. These are necessary because Hwange national park essentially is a refuge camp for all the animals that used to live in the whole northwest of zimbabwe, but who were chased away by humans claiming their lands. Hwange was a no mans land with no water and few resources so nobody wanted to live there, and by pumping water into the natural waterholes, the nature has all the resources it needs to sustain the animals without bothering humans. Win-win.

nex 7, kitlens @ 55mm, f7.1, 1/640, iso 100

hope you enjoy, and hope you comment, and i hope you visit zimbabwe too some day!

edit: here is a link to my "Birds of Zimbabwe"

Edited by grimelda - 06 September 2012 at 18:09